Both Iceland and Greenland registered the highest temperatures ever recorded for the month in May, according to the research network World Weather Attribution (WWA).
On May 15, it was 26.6 degrees at Egilsstadir Airport on Iceland, which is 10 degrees higher than the average. On May 19, 14.3 degrees were measured in the Greenlandic community Ittoqqortoormiit – 13 degrees higher than the usual average temperature for May.
During the month, Greenland's ice cover melted 17 times faster than the previous average, according to WWA, as reported by AFP.
The temperatures are extreme – but not surprising, according to climate researcher and professor Sebastian Mernild at Syddansk University.
We have seen repeated extreme events with record-high temperatures both globally and in Europe, so it's not something that surprises us, he says to the news agency Ritzau.
